


Strange and Familiar Faces

by Daughter_of_the_TARDIS



Series: The Songs of the Universe [3]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Canon Rewrite, First Meetings, Fix-It, Found Family, Pre-Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Prequel, Protective Jack Harkness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-07 14:37:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17367731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daughter_of_the_TARDIS/pseuds/Daughter_of_the_TARDIS
Summary: "You’re a big part of my life, Uncle Jack.  And I promise you, if you do this for me, I can help you find what you’ve been searching for.”“Oh really?” Jack scoffed.  “And what’s that?”“A family.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this might end up being the beginning of a whole rewrite of Torchwood with Catherine in it - I'm not really sure how I feel about the character anymore, but this was sitting on my hard drive and I thought that I would try it out. It's been awhile since I've played with an OC, so we'll see how it goes!

_April 3, 1953_

Captain Jack Harkness was trying his damnedest to get drunk. Unfortunately, due to his immortality and the quality of 1950s liquor, it wasn’t going as well as he had hoped.

He would have given his right arm for a case of hypervodka right about now. It would have just grown back anyway, he mused.

He had missed the Doctor and Rose again. According to his informants, they had appeared for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth - there had been something to do with people who didn’t have faces, according to his information. Sadly, it wasn’t even close to the craziest thing that he had heard since being forced to join the Torchwood Institute back in 1899.

Someone slid onto the worn wooden barstool next to him, and he sighed. “Sorry, doll, I’m not in the mood for fun right now.”

“That’s alright, Uncle Jack.” A woman’s voice said, and he turned to look at her in alarm. The woman sitting next to him was pale, but looked even paler due to her black hair and big blue eyes lined with kohl. She was dressed almost perfectly for the time period - in America, at least - in a calf-length dark purple skirt and black blouse with matching purple heels. The only thing that was off was the black leather jacket that she wore, along with her piercings and deep purple lipstick. “You're not exactly my type, anyway.”

He noticed all of that information in just a few short seconds, while his brain processed something else about her. “Excuse me?” he asked, putting his glass down - he was starting to think that he’d had too much to drink. “What did you call me?”. That was what he said, but he was more focused on her eyes. They were a pale, icy blue in a familiar shade - one that he had last seen over fifty years in the past and thousands of years in the future.

She laughed, even though she looked slightly sheepish. “Sorry, Captain.” she said. “I forgot that we haven’t exactly met yet… well, you haven’t met this me.”

At this point, he was starting to get irritated. He had quickly realized that she was a time traveller, which had begun to piss him off, thinking that she was someone that he should have remembered from the Time Agency. However, when she mentioned other versions of herself, he grew hopeful. Not to mention, those eyes were a rather large clue.

“Doctor?” he asked quietly. He didn’t want to draw unwanted attention to them- Torchwood was everywhere, after all. And they would do anything to get their hands on the legendary Time Lord.

But the girl just laughed again. “No, sorry. Not quite. But think back to the turn of the century - particularly a rather strange couple that lived on Paternoster Row?”

“Vastra and Jenny.” Jack murmured. They had been great friends of his, and he had gone to great lengths to keep the Torchwood Institute from interfering in their lives. It had nothing to do with the women being a couple - after all, Alice Guppy and Emily Halroyd had been in charge back then. No, it had had more to do with Madame Vastra being a Silurian - because even though her species predated humans, she still fell into the Torchwood ‘if it’s alien, it’s ours’ frame of mind. “What about them?”

“They had a niece, remember? Little Kitty, who lived with them every once in a while when her parents were traveling? You met her once - helped her to escape Torchwood.” she paused for a second, before admitting, “I never did get a chance to thank you for that.”

He froze, remembering the tiny girl with wicked blonde curls and green eyes. Even her facial structure had been different. “That was you? But…”

“I know.” she said, looking smug as she smoothed her skirt down. “I look so much better these days.” 

“But that makes you a -” she slapped a hand over his mouth, looking paler than she already was. 

“Hush, please!” she said quickly. “It’s not time for me to join Torchwood yet, thank you.” she said, then took a deep breath. “The point is, at some point in the future, I will join Torchwood - your Torchwood. But not for a long time.” 

Jack snorted. “Look, kiddo.” He began, trying to keep his patience. He didn't bother asking how she even knew about Torchwood - it was called ‘the worst kept secret in Cardiff’ for a reason. “I don't know what you've been drinking, but you've made a mistake. There's no way I would ever lead Torchwood.”

“That's where you're wrong.” She slid a napkin across the bar, folding it into his hand. “You need to be in this spot at this time.” she said. “And that’s when you’ll find me. You’re a big part of my life, Uncle Jack. And I promise you, if you do this for me, I can help you find what you’ve been searching for.”

“Oh really?” Jack scoffed. “And what’s that?”

“A family.” She gave him a smile before standing up, grimacing slightly as she moved. That was when he noticed the stiff way she was holding herself, and he got worried despite himself.

She noticed his concern, though, and waved it off. “Don’t worry.” she reassured him. “I’ll be fine - just a quick bout with a Weevil that went wrong. We’ve got a great medic back at the Hub who’ll help me. Well, I say help me… more like force me to sit through him bitching at me for not being careful after I get back to the Hub.” She handed him a fifty-pound note, smiling softly at him.

“What's this for?” He asked.

“Some of the drinks that you're gonna buy me in the future. Trust me, that doesn't even cover half of it.” She replied cheerfully, and then gave him a quick peck on the cheek before walking out of the bar.

He followed her out of the bar, just in time to catch a large creature come out from a hiding place and start following her - he guessed it was some sort of dog. He followed her into a back alley, where she pulled up the sleeve of her leather jacket to reveal a Vortex Manipulator strapped to her arm. He raced forward in an attempt to catch her, but both she and the animal disappeared in a flash of light and static right before he could.

He cursed and punched the wall before remembering what she had told him - that he would meet her again someday.

For the first time in a long time, he felt himself growing… hopeful.


	2. Chapter 2

_August 21, 2001_

_Cardiff, Wales_

Captain Jack Harkness had been running Torchwood on his own for a bit over a year now - ever since Alex Hopkins had killed the entirety of the last team before killing himself. Yvonne Hartman had tried to seize control a few times since then, but she had failed, luckily. He shuddered to think of what would happen if Hartman gained control of the Rift.

But by this point, he was exhausted. He had been going for two weeks straight without any sleep because of the Rift constantly working overtime. His immortality was the only thing keeping him from dying because of it. However, if he didn’t get help soon, it would be all over and Hartman would win.

He wasn’t about to let that happen.

Luckily, he was about to get some help - hopefully. He turned a corner into a back alley, following the directions that he had been given around fifty years earlier. Over the years, he had memorized the instructions, simply from reading over them so many times.

Coming down the alleyway, he saw a familiar head of black hair and skin so pale she practically glowed beneath the streetlights. Only instead of the lovely clothes that she had worn all those years ago, this version of Kitty Flint - as he had taken to calling her in his head - had her long black hair down and wore a long and tattered red dress. However, Jack didn’t take much time to notice that. He was more worried about the Weevil that currently had her backed into a corner.

“Hey!” he shouted, drawing the alien’s attention away from the young woman. “Over here, ugly!”

The Weevil turned to look at him, just as a small grey blur jumped onto it. He watched in surprise as the Weevil howled, trying to shake the creature off. It just clung on tighter, until finally the Weevil managed to shake it free, flinging it into the wall. That was when the Captain got his senses back and pulled out the Weevil spray that he had finally gotten to work after months of working on the formula. It only took one spray of it to have the alien out cold.

“Hey kiddo.” Jack said, turning to look at the young girl. Her clothes had been shredded by the Weevil’s claws, and there were several gashes along her arms. 

“Sorry, do I know you?” she asked, wincing, but then her eyes widened as she recognized him. “Jack Harkness?” she asked, and he nodded.

“That’s Uncle Jack to you, kiddo.” he said warmly, going over to check her out. In the fifty years or so since they had last met, he had found himself wanting what this girl had promised him more and more - he wanted a family, people that accepted him as he was. The only part of it that worried him was what he would do when the Doctor arrived.

She seemed to be going into shock, so he quickly shed his RAF greatcoat and wrapped it around her. “What can I call you?”

She smiled tiredly, wincing again as she looked at him. “Catherine Song, also known as The Angel. That one usually only works in life-or-death type situations, though.”

“Come on, sweetheart.” he said gently, trying to keep from startling her at all. Let’s get you back to the Hub. We’ll get you cleaned up there, alright?”

“Wait!” she said frantically, pulling away from him and running over to where the small grey animal laid. “Rosaline” she said, sounding almost broken as she saw the state that it was in. She picked up the animal, cradling her close to her chest. Then she walked back over to him, and Jack nearly gasped aloud when he saw the little animal. A wolf cub was cradled in the young woman’s arms, it’s yellow eyes barely open.

“Now we can go.” she said, and let him lead her back to the SUV that he had parked around the corner, only stopping for a moment to pick up the Weevil’s unconscious body.

He threw the alien in the boot before taking her around to the front of the car and helping her climb in.

“So how’d you end up here, anyway?” Jack asked, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove at breakneck speeds back to the Hub.

The young Time Lady huffed, crossing her arms as she looked out the window. “I got grounded.” she admitted after a minute or two. “Dad picked me up from the Maldovarium after I nearly got busted by the Judoon, and he told me I was grounded. He said that I could travel with him, or I could stay on Earth. I chose Earth, so he dropped me here.” She looked disgusted, reminding the Captain of his Doctor with the leather jacket. “In Cardiff.” she sounded completely disgusted as she spat out the last word.

What she didn’t tell him was that her father had given her a choice - stay with her Aunt Sarah and her son Luke, or go with Jack. She knew which one her father wanted her to pick - he had never made a secret of his hatred of Torchwood - but something drew her here, despite how much she despised Cardiff. She had chosen to stay here, and to convince her uncle to let her help him. She knew what the future held for Jack Harkness and his team, but it wasn’t set in stone - not yet, anyway. 

She still had a chance to fix things.

“You’ve still got your Manipulator, though.” Jack pointed out, gesturing to the leather strap wrapped around her wrist. “Why not just leave?”

“You’ve got yours, too.” Catherine pointed out, running a hand through the wolf’s fur. “Why don’t you do the same thing?”

Jack laughed dryly. “I can’t.” he admitted. “The damn thing shorted out.”

She hummed in acknowledgement before giving her own reason. “Dad soniced it. I haven’t had a chance to look yet and see if anything is still working.”

There was an awkward moment where neither of them said anything.

She turned to study him, wincing again. “What’s wrong?” Jack asked, looking worried.

“You’re… different.” She said. She was trying to keep her eyes on him, but failed, looking away as she put a hand up to her forehead. “There’s something about your timelines that I don’t…” her eyes widened as she realized what it was.

“Shit…” she cursed, then added a few choice terms of gallifreyan that she had picked up while helping her dad work on the TARDIS.

Jack looked at her in confusion, but she just stared at him. “Something wrong?” he asked, and she nodded.

“You're immortal, aren't you?” She asked, and he laughed nervously.

“What told you that?” he asked, and she winced.

“You kind of… your timelines glow” she offered, shrugging her shoulders slightly. “It’s not the best explanation, but it’s all that I have for now. Sorry.”

“No, its okay.” He reassured her, while at the same time trying not to get his hopes up. “I don't suppose you know what happened, or how to fix me?”

She shook her head. “But Dad might.” She said, knowing what she had to do to keep the timelines intact. Her heart sank at the very thought of what she was about to do. “I don't have any way to get in touch with him, though. We'll have to wait until he stops to refuel.” Of course, she had a way to talk to him. But she really didn't want to - the version of her father that she was still mostly linear with had left her after her mother died to go travel with some tiny girl who wore too-short skirts and flirted with him. That was something that she might never forgive him for.

Jack tried not to feel too disappointed.

“Right. Now that that’s settled... where’re you heading, anyway?” Jack changed the subject, trying to look as though he didn’t care what her answer might be. In reality, he was willing to beg to have her stay with him. He needed someone to help him build his new team, and he would have preferred it to be Catherine. He had vaguely known her as a little girl, but he still considered her father to be one of his closest friends even after over a century.

“My plan was to go and stay with my Aunt Sarah.” she admitted, but he could see the doubt written clearly on her face.

“Sarah Jane Smith?” Jack asked, clarifying. He had files on every companion that had traveled with the Doctor, keeping an eye on them and helping them out whenever they needed it. 

Catherine nodded. “That's her.”

“So why don't you?” he prompted, and she sighed, rolling her eyes. He couldn’t help his laugh - she looked every inch the petulant teenager, and he couldn’t help his next question. 

“How old are you?” he asked, and she looked at him in confusion. 

“Three hundred and twenty-two, I think. Possibly three hundred and twenty-three.” she said, before going back to the original topic. “But Rosaline and I can’t stay with Aunt Sarah, because my younger self will be there a lot. Crossing timelines like that would be very bad. Not to mention that we got here too early - Aunt Sarah won't even know that I exist for another six years or so.”

“Well,” Jack said, trying to keep from looking too eager, “You could always stay with me.”

Catherine looked intrigued. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah.” he kept his eyes on the road. “The twenty-first century is when everything changes, and right now I’m the only one working out here with the Rift. So what do you think?”

Catherine smiled. “I have conditions.” she told him, and he nodded.

“Name them.”

“Rosaline stays with me, no matter what.” she said. “And I get to go shopping. This is the only outfit I have, currently, and it’s destroyed.”

“Shopping is ok, just put it in the budget. Get shoes you can run in. However, if it goes too far, you’ll have to take it up with Lizzie.” Jack took his eyes off the road to look at her for a moment. “But who the hell is Rosaline?”

“Must you be so loud?” another voice spoke up, sounding irritated. Catherine snickered, while Jack looked around in surprise before settling.

“Perception filter?” he guessed, but Catherine just shook her head, grinning.

“I’m down here.” the voice said, sounding slightly grumpier this time. Jack looked down to see the wolf cub looking up at him, its eyes barely open. 

Catherine smiled. “Uncle Jack, meet Rosie.”

“Rosaline.” the tiny pup snapped, baring her little fangs. Jack couldn’t help but stare at the talking wolf.

“What species…?” he began, but trailed off when he saw the appraising look that the pup was giving him. It was like she was trying to figure out exactly who he was through this one look.

“Rosaline is an Aqrolt.” Catherine informed him. “She's been with me since I was eight years old, through two regenerations. She’s not going anywhere.”

Jack nodded, then noticed how she was staring at him. “What is it?” 

“I have one more condition.” She said.

“Name it.” Jack said without missing a beat.

“I get to choose one person to join the team that you have to say yes to. No matter what.” That got the captain's attention.

“Why?” He asked cautiously. He knew that he probably didn't have anything to worry about - she was the kid of his oldest friend, after all - but the request still made him slightly wary.

“Because I'm asking you to.” She said simply.

“Alright then.” Jack said, after thinking it through for a moment. “Do you have the same language abilities as the Doc?”

But Catherine snorted. “Dad has the TARDIS to translate for him.” She said, rolling her eyes. “Mummy taught me languages the old-fashioned way.”

“How many can you speak?” Jack asked, looking over at her.

She raised a brow. “How many are there?” She countered. “Over three hundred years, and lots of time between running for my life.” She grinned. “Dad once told me that if I had gone to the Academy, I would've been a Prydonian.”

Jack gave her one of his famous mega-watt grins. “Looks like I just found myself a linguistics specialist and liaison.”

Catherine smiled back at him, her eyes sparkling with happiness. “Fantastic.”


	3. Chapter 3

_April 9, 2002_

Suzie Costello was in the field, trying to infiltrate a party. Unfortunately for her, Jack hadn’t been able to take this mission - their target, a known collector of dangerous alien artifacts, knew who he was. However, he didn’t know Suzie, which worked to their advantage. What didn’t work out for her was that he was rich - insanely so. Which meant that she had had to pull out all the stops if she even wanted to make it inside the mansion - which meant doing the one thing that she dreaded more than anything. Shopping.

Luckily for her, her boss had an amazing fashion sense - not that she would ever tell him so. His ego didn’t need to grow any further. By the time that they were done shopping, she had been outfitted in an all black ensemble - a black one-shoulder dress with a short, clingy skirt, black pantyhose held up with garters, and finished off with a pair of black high heels. Jack had been the one to do her hair and makeup, and once she saw herself in the mirror, she felt less like a little girl playing dress-up, and more like Cinderella on her way to the ball.

Of course, things became more complicated once she arrived at the party. The place was packed, full of the richest of the rich. Jack was in her ear, keeping a running commentary on everything that he saw.

She had finally managed to draw her target’s attention away from a pretty black-haired girl to herself, and had gotten him out on the floor to try and slip his key out of his pocket. Their information had said that the man never let it out of his sight, and as such always kept it on his person.

Which was why she was in such a panic a few minutes later when she called Jack.

“It’s not there, Jack!” she hissed into the comms. “Someone else already took the key!”

“Are you sure?” her boss’s American accent came through the tinny speakers loud and clear.

“Absolutely.”

“Who else could have gotten ahold of it?” he had asked. She knew what he was doing then - scanning the crowd from his spot in the SUV outside. He would be watching her through the contact lens cameras as well, seeing everything that she was.

“I don’t know, there was only one other person that he spent any time with from what I saw.” Susie said frantically. “She wore, um, a black corset with a red skirt… red high heels…” she paused for a second, seeing her target. “Found them.”

Susie reached into her bag, pulling out her gun before ditching her heels and running off after their mysterious interloper.

She caught sight of the young woman by the bar, and yelled. “Freeze, Torchwood!”

The woman’s eyes went wide as her face paled, and she could have sworn that she heard the woman whisper, “No.”

She started running then, and Susie would have shot at her if there weren’t so many people in the way. So she started to give chase, following the girl outside. 

“Jack!” she called over the comms. “She’s outside!” 

“I see her!” he replied, sounding slightly out of breath.

They managed to chase her into an alley, and that was when Jack froze. It took her a moment to realize why - it was because of the sound of growling that was coming from the end of the alley, along with a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

“Drop your weapon.” Jack hissed, and she looked at him as if he had gone insane. “Do it, Susie!”

“Alright!” she hissed back, finally just listening to the Captain and lowering her gun. He had to know what he was doing, she was sure of it. Mostly.

The Captain holstered his Webley, walking slowly down the alley.

“It’s okay, Rosaline.” he said softly, and the growling stopped. Then he heard a familiar voice. 

“Uncle Jack?”

He whipped around, looking for the source of the voice before finding it. “Catherine!” he cried out in relief, pulling the young Time Lady up and off of the ground and into a hug.

Susie watched in astonishment as the Captain checked over the young woman, making sure that there wasn’t a scratch on her.

Meanwhile, the yellow-eyed animal crept out of the shadows, revealing itself to the newest Torchwood agent. The half-grown wolf growled at the woman, raising its hackles as it bared its teeth.

“It’s okay, Rosaline. She’s a friend.” Jack called, and Susie watched in open-mouthed surprise as the cub relaxed almost instantly before trotting over to stand protectively in front of the young woman.

“What the hell is this?” The girl said once she had calmed down enough to speak. “I come back from New York - there was no invasion or anything for once - and nearly get killed! I thought for sure that Torchwood One had found me, Uncle Jack!”

“What are you doing here?” Jack asked, and that was when Susie finally found her voice. “I thought you were taking the weekend off, too.”

“Who the hell are you?” she asked, finally deciding that it would be safe to holster her gun.

The young woman looked at her with a completely blank face - no emotion showing at all. “The better question is, who are you?” she countered.

Captain Harkness answered for her. “This is Susie Costello.” he told the girl - who he still had to let go of. “She’s just joined the team.” Then he turned to look at Susie. “This is Catherine - she’s my niece, and works with me at Torchwood.”

“Then where the hell has she been for the past week?” Susie asked, and Catherine rolled her eyes.

“She is right here and can tell you herself.” she shot back, making the Captain smile fondly. “I was in New York, in the States. Got called in to consult on something.”

“So what were you doing here?” Jack asked, beginning to lead them back to the SUV. “And where was Rosaline staying?”

Catherine smirked, reaching down the front of her dress to pull out the same key that Suzie had been sent in to retrieve. “I heard along the grapevine that Mr. Deele was throwing a party tonight, and I knew that he had been on your list for awhile Uncle Jack. Rosaline was right outside as backup the entire time, don’t worry.”

But Jack just sighed, ruffling his niece’s hair despite her squawk of anger. “You know that won’t stop me from worrying, sweetheart.”

“Unfortunately.” the young woman grumbled, attempting to fix her hair while pulling open the rear door of the SUV, allowing Rosaline to climb in first. “So what do we have that’s new?” she asked, smiling as she watched Cardiff pass by outside her window.

Suzie listened to her Captain banter and bicker with his niece, barely managing to suppress her laughter at times.

At first she had thought that Torchwood would be just like her old job. But, as she watched her two teammates interact, she couldn't help but think that maybe this job would be better.


	4. Chapter 4

November 21, 2003

There was something about being stuck in a solitary confinement cell for so long that made life seem to be so much better when you got out.

Although, there were downsides. The world was different from what she remembered - brighter, louder, more crowded. Scarier. It didn't help that she seemed to be indebted to a flirtatious ego maniac.

But when Captain Jack Harkness first showed up at the UNIT prison and told her that he wanted to hire her, Toshiko Sato thought that her luck couldn’t get any better. Then he told her that he worked with aliens, and she thought that he was playing with her - but she still followed him anyway.

But then he showed her his underground base - he had called it the Hub. He had already told her about the other member of his team - Miss Susie Costello.

He hadn’t told her about the third member of his team - the very energetic goth that had practically attacked him upon arrival.

“Uncle Jack!” Toshiko had flinched backwards as the young woman threw her arms around the handsome Captain, and then had let out a small scream of terror when she saw the wolf that was trailing along behind her. Other than the handsome Captain, the only human contact she had had recently had been with the UNIT guards, and as such she was a bit more wary of people than she used to be. But wild animals had always been a big no as far as she was concerned. The captain and the woman started talking, faster than even she could keep up with. She wasn’t even sure that it was English, but she was too busy focusing on the animal in the Hub to really pay attention to what they were saying.

The wolf came right up to her, wagging it’s tail happily. Something in the animal’s eyes had reassured her, though, and she cautiously knelt down to scratch behind the wolf’s ears. “Oh, look at you.” she said softly, not even realizing that a smile was spreading across her face for the first time in a long time. “You’re so cute.” Then she realized what she was saying, and quickly added, “for a large, carnivorous canine, that is.”

Rosaline smirked, although her heart was melting at the looking of pure joy on the technician’s face. She decided then and there that she wouldn't mind helping out Tosh whenever she needed a shoulder… as long as it meant she would be scratched just like that.

“You must be Doctor Sato.” Toshiko looked up to see the goth woman smiling down at her. She wore a sleeveless black dress with tights, boots and red lipstick to complete the look. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and she had several different piercings. “I'm Catherine - I’ve heard loads about you. Sorry, I would have been there with this one to get you out but he won’t let me anywhere near UNIT, unless its the Brigadier.”

“Is it my fault that I don’t trust them?” the Captain asked, and she glared at him.

“Yes it is.” she replied primly, before kneeling on the floor next to the tiny Japanese woman. “This is Rosaline, by the way. She’s my… best friend, I suppose you could say.”

“She’s a wolf.” Toshiko stated, and the girl nodded, her nose stud glinting in the fluorescent lights as her head bobbed.

“Yes she is.” she said, sounding oddly proud. Then she smiled. “But that’s enough about me. I want to know about you. Because, you see, Captain Cheesecake over here -” and that earned her a disgruntled cry from the man who Toshiko assumed was her boss “says that you managed to build a sonic modulator… out of faulty plans. Do you know what that means?”

“That I’m a terrorist?” Toshiko said softly, looking down at her hands. So she didn’t see it coming when the younger woman pulled her into a hug. 

“No, not at all. That was just UNIT being a bunch of arseholes.” Before she had a chance to continue, the Captain cut in.

“Yeah, they’re good at that.”

Catherine rolled her eyes, but didn’t rise to the bait. “Lucky for you, we’ve got friends on the inside who were willing to help us out. No, no - you were able to build tech that shouldn’t exist for at least another century using faulty plans. That makes you a total screaming genius. And let me just tell you, it will be brilliant to have someone around here who can actually keep up with my technobabble. Susie doesn’t get it, and Jack is far too busy to bother with little old me.” the last bit was said with a sly glance towards the man in question. Sure enough, he answered the bait.

“That was one time, Cath.” he said, exasperated. “And it was Lizzie on the other end, you know that I can’t ignore her.” a phone rang upstairs, and the Captain quickly headed off to answer it.

The young woman just gave a noncommittal hum, and that was when Toshiko decided that she liked the other woman. She was very sassy and over the top, but at the same time seemed to be a bit less enthusiastic than the captain was. She also seemed to be able to keep the flamboyant Captain Harkness in line, which would definitely be helpful further down the road.

“So what’s your job here?” she asked, her voice a bit louder than the timid whisper that it had been.

Catherine looked surprised. “Me? Oh, well, officially, I’m nobody around here. I don't even exist.” But then her voice dropped to a stage whisper. “But unofficially, I’m Uncle Jack’s trainer.”

“I heard that!” the man in question called from up in his office, and Catherine giggled. Toshiko wondered for a second how he had heard her from so far away, but was quickly distracted.

“See? He needs all the help that he can get.” Catherine helped Toshiko up off of the floor, with Rosaline quickly standing up as well. Tosh knew that both of her new teammates were trying to help her adjust, and she was very grateful to them for it. “But I'm the linguistics expert here, really. Basically a fancy way of saying ‘translator’.”

“So do you have a flat yet?” She asked, then looked almost happy when Tosh shook her head. “Brilliant - that means you can stay with me. Unless you want to stay here, of course.” she added quickly.

Tosh smiled softly, nodding quickly. “I'd like that. To stay with you, I mean.”

Catherine cheered. “Excellent! Do you have clothes and things?” She asked, but Tosh shook her head. “Not to worry, Tosh.” she looped her arm through the other woman’s. “We’ll go out and get you new ones.”

“How did you know to call me Tosh?” Toshiko asked. “I haven’t heard anyone call me that since my mother…” she trailed off, unsure of how to continue that line of thinking.

Catherine actually blushed at that, but she didn’t say anything for a moment. “I’ll tell you later.” she said, shooting a nervous look at Suzie. Rosaline nudged her hand with her nose, a silent show of support. “So! First shopping, then a tour.” She said, and Tosh decided not to mention the obvious attempt to distract her. “Uncle Jack! We’re going out!”

“Keep your phone on in case we need you!” The captain yelled back, and she threw him an irreverent salute.

Tosh smiled as she was led towards the invisible lift. She thought she was going to like it here.


	5. Chapter 5

_March 19, 2006_

It was Owen Harper’s third day at Torchwood when he met Catherine Song. He had already heard a lot about her, but had yet to actually meet her. When he did finally meet the girl, she was not at all what he had been expecting. 

Catherine Song was a real dark beauty, with her long black hair pulled up into a ponytail. She wore a red plaid skirt with braces attached - but not pulled up - and a plain black top with batwing boots. She had several different piercings, and her lips were painted dark red while her eyes had been brushed with black. Normally he didn’t go for goth chicks - or for girls that much younger than him, she couldn’t have been much older than twenty - but she was one that he wouldn’t have minded taking on a few dates.

Or at least she would have been, before Katie. But now Owen was bitter and cold-hearted, and just saw her as another rebound girl.

She had been talking to quiet little Toshiko - who hadn’t seemed as quiet when talking with her - when he entered that morning, but as soon as he came into view she was bouncing over and pulling him into a hug, which had been more than appreciated.

“Hello!” she had said happily. “You must be the new doctor that Jack hired. I’m so glad you’re here - now I won’t have to play doctor any more.”

When he thought back on it later, Owen would cringe at the memory of what his response had been. But at the time it had seemed like a good idea to say, “You can play doctor with me anytime you want, sweetheart.”

The sweet smile on her face had immediately turned grim, and he could see Tosh freeze behind her - even Suzie looked up from where she was sitting at her station. A strange, foreboding sound echoed around the Hub, and the young woman had shot a nervous look up towards the catwalk.

Only later would he remember the looks of anger that had been on their faces.

“You might want to talk to my uncle about that, first.” the younger woman had said, a mischievous light entering her eyes that had both worried Owen and turned him on just a bit.

“Oh yeah, gorgeous?” he had asked. “And why’s that?”

An icy voice had answered his question while a strong hand clasped onto his shoulder. “Because I’d kill you for propositioning her.” And with that, Captain Jack Harkness reared back and punched his new medic square in the jaw before turning to his niece and pulling her into one of his famous bear hugs.

He bussed her on the cheek before pulling back. “Hey, kiddo.” he said happily. “How was your trip?”

“It was fine, Uncle Jack.” she responded. “Aunt Sarah says hello, by the way,” 

“Is she still refusing to let me come over?” he asked her, and she giggled, nodding her head.

“You know her thing about guns.” Catherine said, shrugging it off.

That was when he froze. “Where’s Rosaline?” he asked, just as a large gray blur came flying at him. He turned at the last second, attempting to catch the animal just as Owen pulled out his gun. He realized that it wasn’t necessary, however, as the wolf started to lick every inch of the Captain’s face once she had knocked him to the ground, pinning him beneath her. He laughed even as he tilted his face away from her, trying to crawl out from where the large animal had pinned him to the ground.

“Hiya pup.” he said happily, petting the animal’s back. “Did you have fun with K-9?”

“Really, Jack?” Owen said snarkily, still a bit shaken by the seemingly tame wolf. “The dumb animal’s not going to answer.” 

The wolf snarled in response, the edges of her lips curling upward to reveal pointed fangs.

“Rosaline, be nice.” Catherine admonished, trying to contain her laughter at the look of surprise on the medic’s face. “Don't be mean to the prat.”

But then the large animal had turned on Owen, her yellow eyes narrowed as she stepped forward, growling slightly.

“Uh oh.” The Captain said, a smirk plastered on his face as he stood up, assessing the situation. “Looks like she saw what you did, Owen. You shouldn't have hit on our girl. Rosaline takes her job as protector very seriously.”

“Oh you've got to be bloody kidding me.” Owen said as he slowly backed away from the growling wolf. He looked to his team members, hoping that one of him would help him out. But both Tosh and Suzie looked like they were willing to let the giant mutt eat him alive.

“Alright!” he called out, panicking. “I'm sorry, alright?”

“Hiya Rosie.” Tosh said softly, smiling at the wolf and patting her lap. “Come on, and say hello.” the wolf snarled at the medic once more, before gracefully moving over to the technician, allowing herself to be petted and fussed over. “Just so you know, Owen,” Tosh said absently, “Rosie wouldn't have actually eaten you. She might have taken a nibble, but that's it, isn't it sweetie?” She cooed the last part, scratching Rosaline behind her ears. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth, her tail wagging wildly.

Catherine pouted. “You know, it’s not fair that she likes you more than me these days. You’re the only person that she lets call her ‘Rosie’ anymore.”

 _“You’re too loud.”_ Rosaline replied, the dryness in her voice distinguishable even through their telepathic link. _“Tosh is nice and quiet… and she gives excellent cuddles.”_

“I'm sorry, sweetheart.” Owen said softly, actually looking apologetic. He moved over to stand next to Catherine. “I really should have known better.”

Catherine snorted out a laugh. “Yeah, you really should have.” She replied. She studied him for a moment, before smiling. “After all, I'm much too old for you.”

Owen just looked after her in surprise as she walked away, before quickly following after her. “What d’you mean, you're too old for me?”

The only response that he got was a snort of laughter.


End file.
